--- a/share/gpodder/ui/gtk/menus.ui
+++ b/share/gpodder/ui/gtk/menus.ui
@@ -13,10 +13,6 @@
         <attribute name="action">app.gotoMygpo</attribute>
         <attribute name="label" translatable="yes">Go to gpodder.net</attribute>
       </item>
-      <item>
-        <attribute name="action">app.checkForUpdates</attribute>
-        <attribute name="label" translatable="yes">Software updates</attribute>
-      </item>
     </section>
     <section>
       <item>
--- a/src/gpodder/config.py
+++ b/src/gpodder/config.py
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
 
     # Software updates from gpodder.org
     'software_update': {
-        'check_on_startup': True,  # check for updates on start
+       'check_on_startup': False,  # check for updates on start
         'last_check': 0,  # unix timestamp of last update check
         'interval': 5,  # interval (in days) to check for updates
     },
--- a/src/gpodder/gtkui/main.py
+++ b/src/gpodder/gtkui/main.py
@@ -3445,6 +3445,7 @@
         If silent=False, a message will be shown even if no updates are
         available (set silent=False when the check is manually triggered).
         """
+        return
         try:
             up_to_date, version, released, days = util.get_update_info()
         except Exception as e: